Those pesky pirates are invading Tampa again. For more than 100 years, Tampa city leaders have held the signature Gasparilla event to draw visitors with a day of pirates and a parade of buccaneers. It borrows heavily from Mardi Gras,

Gasparilla became a time-honored tradition in 1904 after local planners decided to make the legend of Gasparilla into the theme for that year's May Day celebration, said Gasparill

Gasparilla Pirate Fest has live music at stages located along the Tampa Riverwalk that run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park (at Ashley Drive and Twiggs Street) and MacDill Park (at Ashley Drive and Whiting Street).

Pint-sized pirates are taking over Bayshore Boulevard this Saturday for the Children’s Gasparilla Parade. Here’s everything you need to know about the event.

Every year, an estimated 300,000 participants come to Tampa for the Gasparilla Pirate Festival, a mock attack by a band of pirates called Ye Mystic Krewe. The pirates’ plot is simple: storm the shores, take the city’s key, and parade down Bayshore Boulevard.

Whether by land or by sea, thousands of people crowded Tampa’s waterfront along Bayshore Boulevard on Saturday for the annual Gasparilla Parade of Pirates. It started with the usual invasion at the Tampa Convention Center,